Des Plaines men guilty of aggravated battery in dumbbell attack

A Cook County judge has found two Des Plaines men guilty of aggravated battery for attacking a man with a dumbbell, but acquitted them on charges of attempted murder and home invasion.

Nicholas Ungureanu, 22, of the 2000 block of Touhy Avenue, and Bryan Fogell, also 22, of the 1700 block of Junior Terrace, are scheduled for sentencing Dec. 4.

Following a bench trial in Rolling Meadows branch court, Judge Kay Hanlon on Oct. 16 said prosecutors failed to prove that the two intended to kill the 21-year-old victim or had broken into his home.

Ungureanu and Fogell were arrested in March following the incident at the victim's home in the 2300 block of east Oakton Street in unincorporated Elk Grove Village.

The man testified that the two broke into his home and hit him in the head with a 10-pound dumbbell after he struck Ungureanu in the face. He suffered a head wound that had to be stitched, he testified. The three had been friends, he testified.

Witnesses contradicted the victim, saying he told Ungureanu and Fogell to come in after they knocked on the door.

The two could be sentenced to as many as five years in prison for the class 3 felony, said Assistant Public Defender Dan Naranjo.